UVU golf: Wolverines trail only UNLV after Monday's opening rounds

Junior Brayden Eriksen is in second place and the Utah Valley University men's golf team also holds a second-place spot after the first 36 holes of the Jackrabbit Invitational on Monday. The Wolverines trail first-place UNLV by 17 strokes headed into Tuesday's final round while Eriksen is just a shot back of the individual lead.

"We played pretty solid today," Utah Valley head coach Chris Curran said. "Conditions were tough with the wind blowing upwards of 30 miles per hour at times. We took advantage of the par 5s but missed some key putts. We are going to do our best to try and chase down UNLV tomorrow."

As a team, UVU shot a 576 to pull into second heading into Tuesday's final 18 holes. The Wolverines trail only UNLV while holding a five shot advantage over third-place Oral Roberts. Utah State (586) is in fourth while South Dakota and Arkansas State (594) round out the top five.

Coming into the week, the Rebels of UNLV were ranked 23rd in Golfstat's relative rankings while landing just outside Golfweek's top 25 at No. 26.

Eriksen completed Monday's opening rounds with an individual score of 139 after going 68-71. Carl Jonson of UNLV leads a tight field at the top of the individual leaderboard at 138 (71-67). Three more golfers are within a shot of Eriksen and two of Jonson as Seokwon Jeon of Utah State, Taylor Montgomery of UNLV and Scott Newell of Oral Roberts are tied for third at 140.

"Brayden is once again right in the thick of things," Curran said. "He's finished second a few times and I know he wants to get it done tomorrow."

Also situated in the top 10 on the leaderboard is UVU's Preston Richards who holds a ninth-place position after a day one 144 (71-73). Michael Dart is standing nearby in 12th after going 74-71 (145) on Monday. Rounding out the Wolverine scorecards are JT Timmons and Corey Eccles, sharing 29th place behind a pair of 149s.

The final round at the Primm Valley Golf Club Desert Course gets underway Tuesday morning as the Wolverines seek their first team win and second individual victory of the season.

Kellen Hiser is an assistant sports information director at Utah Valley University. For more information on Wolverine athletics, visit WolverineGreen.com.